Posted by Jane
on 28/10/2009, 0:46:09, in reply to "Re: Royal likenesses"
71.113.186.182
--Previous Message--
: I have always thought that Princess Anne and
: her great aunt, Princess Mary, the princess
: Royal, shared a great resemblance. Also, I
: have thought that the Queen did look like
: her grandmother Queen Mary as she has gotten
: older. Of course Prince Michael of Kent does
: look like his grandfather King George V.
In the past, royal likenesses could be expected in large part because of the high degree of inbreeding. That Prince Michael of Kent resembles his paternal grandfather is not that surprising: King George V himself was a direct descendant of King Christian IX of Denmark -- a common ancestor to both parents of the prince.
That was indeed the catch: one is talking here of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg -- not Hanoverian -- features. Indeed: Michael's father (Prince George, the Duke of Kent) bore a striking resemblance to his paternal grandmother,
Queen Alexandra (eldest daughter of the Danish king).
If it came to that, wasn't the resemblance between King George V and his first cousin, Czar Nicholas II of Russia, legendary? It was easy enough to tell which was which, when they stood side by side; apart, however, it was far more difficult. In any case, the similarities could undoubtedly be attributed to the fact that both took after the Danish royal side of their respective families (their mothers being sisters).
As it was: Prince Michael got a double dose of these Danish genes -- as his mother (born Princess Marina of Greece) traced her bloodline to the Danish king through his second son (King George I of Greece, her paternal grandfather). He hardly looks like a Hanoverian ...
The current British queen does indeed appear the spitting image of her paternal grandmother -- the imperious Queen Mary (born Princess May of Teck). Evidently in her case, the genes of her father (King George VI) have dominated those of her mother (born Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon). But granted this fact, Elizabeth II certainly received a strong dose of Hanoverian genes -- as both her paternal grandparents (King George V and his consort) were direct descendants of King George III.
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